Primary battery.



No. 730,014. PATENTED JUNE 2, 1903.

' J. w. GLADSTONE.

PRIMARY BATTERY;

APPLICATION FILED D20. 17, 1902.

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No. 730,014. PATENTED JUNE 2, 1903.

J. W. GLADSTONE.

PRIMARY BATTERY.

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- UNITED STATES Patented June 2,1903? PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES WILLIAM GLADSTONE, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PRIMARY BATTERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0."730,01 4, dated June 2, 1903. Application filed December '17, 1902. Serial No. 135,602. (No modeliI T0 at whom it may concern.-

'13e it known that 1, JAMES WILLIAM GLAD-i STONE, asubject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of \Vest Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Primary Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to secure simplicity and compactness in the construction of that class of voltaic batteries in which thenegative electrode consists of a plate comprising oxid of copper or other depolarizing agent properly molded and agglomerated.

A further object of my invention is to improve the internal conductivity of the battery by exposing it to a red heat until the particles are welllocked together. A plate of copper thus formed or otherwise formed is sustained in position in the battery by suitable clamping or supporting devices engaging the flat or plane surfaces of the plate and themselves carried by a suitable supporting frame or hanger which may be of any construction, but is preferably of the construction hereinafter set forth, and consists, essentially, of two vertical rods or bars depending from the batterycover and united at their lower ends by a rigid cross-bar permanently secured to them, so as to form a U -shaped hanger to which the clamping devices are properly secured to permit them to bear against the fiat or plane surfaces of the plate. My invention consistsin the novel construction'hereinafter described and claimed for removably holding the molded and agglomerated copper plate by its flat or plane'surfaces. My invention consists, further, in the improved constriiction of a sustaining -'frame and clamping devices carried thereby and in other details of construction hereinafter more particularly set forth, and then specified in the claims.

frame to drop into the jar.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section through the cover and jar of the battery, the parts which embody my invention being shown in front elevation and the zinc or similar battery plate being shown broken away. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same parts detached. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of the same on the line 00 x, 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of a portion of the battery. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the negative electrode, showing a double oXid plate and proper devices for making connection with the fiat or plane surface of the same. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of said double electrode.

Referring to Figs. 1., 2, and 3, 1 indicates the oxid plate formed and hardened or agglomerated, as already described, and 2 indicates the vertical side rods or bars of a hanger or frame, which carries the parts that hold said plate by its opposite fiat or plane surfaces, said plate being, as shown, out of contact at itsedges with the side bars 2 2.

3 is a horizontal cross-bar which permanently unites the vertical rods or bars 2 of the hanger, so that the parts 2 and 3 will constitute a rigid hanger of general U-shaped form; This hanger or frame may be made of plain copper wire of a suitable gage bent into shape and screw-threaded at its ends, so that by means of suitable nuts 4it maybe clamped to the cover 5 of the battery. The screw-threaded ends of the rod .or rods of which the hanger or frame is composed are integral with the body of the rod instead of being, as has been the practice heretofore, soldered to the portion of frame which lies beneath the cover. In such previous construction there is liability to detachment of the screw-threaded end from the body of the frame when the clamping-nut 4: or bindingnut 12 isset up strongly, thus permitting the My improved construction'avoids this difficulty.

6 indicates the usual containing jar.

Extending from the side bars 2 of the hanger are sustaining plates or projections 7, adapted to form a rest or bearing to receive and support the rear face or plane surface of the-plate 1 when the latter is engaged at its front face by a proper clamping crossbar engaging said front face and tending to force the plate againstthe supports 7. The projectingplates 7 may be secured or fastened to the bars or rods 2 in any suitable way, as by riveting. They are perforated, as shown, to allow free access of the battery liquid and may extend to a greater or lessextent over the face of the plate, as shown, but in any case are suitably conformed to said face, so as to make good contact therewith. The clamping device,whi ch makes contact with the front face of the plate 1 and holds it against the sustaining-plate 7, consists of a suitable cross-bar 8, that may be made of sheet metal and is pivotally sustained from one of the vertical bars 2, so as to be capable, preferably, of swinging in a vertical plane. Its other or free end is detachably held by a suitable latch or catch on the other vertical rod or bar 2. This latch or catch may consist of a headed pin 9, over which an enlarged opening 10 in the cross-bar S is adapted to pass, the opening 10 being, however, c011- stricted or reduced in its lateral dimensions, as shown, so that after the end of the bar passes over the head of the pin and the bar is then moved downward slightly the head of the pin 9 will hold the said free end firmly. The plate or cross-bar S is preferably made of spring metal and should preferably make connection across the whole face of the electrode 1. To insure a better or more extensive contact, said cross-bar or plate 8 maybe provided with a supplemental perforated plate or disk 2, riveted thereto. To remove the plate 1, all that is necessary is to swing the end of the cross-piece S slightly upward, so as to permit the opening 10 to pass over the head of the pin 9 and then to swing said cross piece or bar 8 downward to free the front face of the plate or electrode 1, after which the latter may be lifted from its place. As will be obvious, the contact with the elec trode or plate being by its flat or plane surfaces an extensive surface of contact is pro vided and the internal resistance will be smaller. It is also obvious that there are no loose parts to be mislaid and that the surfaces which clamp the plate 1 are readily accessible for cleaning. If desired, the front face, with which the disk 12 engages may have a slight depression to receive said disk, there by more firmly securing the said plate in position, although ordinarily the large surfaces of contact, aided by the pressure applied by the spring cross-bar 8, will be sufiicient to securely hold the plate-electrode.

The hanger-rods 2 are provided with hardrubber insulating-tubes 18, which rest upon the upper part of the oxid plate or plates 1 and which prevent any internal (local) action between the hanger-rods 2 and the zinc-plate rods 16. The cover 5, which closes the top of the jar (i, is preferably made of porcelain, molded or formed with the suitable openings to receive the screw-threaded upper ends of the hanger-rods 2, the latter being provided also with suitable clamp-nuts 12, either of which maybe employed as the wire clamp 01' the copper element. At the center of the top of the cover 5 is a projection 13, having a horizontal opening to receive a bolt lei. Two zinc plates 15 are each provided with rods 16, which pass upwardly through the cover at opposite ends of the pro ection 13 and are provided with openings through which the bolt 11 passes. Said bolt is provided with suitable nuts whereby the rods 16 may be clamped firmly in position, and one end of said bolt is furnished with a suitable thumb-nut 11.7 to enable electrical connection tobe made between the zinc element and any external wire orconductor. These devices keep the plates sustained rigidly a definite distance apart, thus affording a space in which the ng gat-ive electrode, consisting of the coppeuoxul plate 1, is sustained vertically.

This construction produces an exceedinglysimple and compact form of battery and permits the copper-oxid plates to be readily renewed. If desired, two copper-oxid plates 1 1 may be employed, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, for convenience in molding, and each said plate be provided with its own clan'ipingdJar 8, as clearly shown.

The solution employed is prefcrabl y a twenty-per-cent solution of caustic soda; but other caustic alkali, such as caustic potash, may be employed.

In charging the battery the jar may be iilled with water to a height to amply cover the zinc plates and the caustic soda, in granulated or other form, added gradually to the water, the solution being stirred constantly until it is entirely dissolved. 'When the solution cools, it may be then necessary to add a little more water to bring it to the proper height. A layer of heavy paraffin-oil should then be poured on the solution and will prevent the formation of creeping salts.

hat I claim as my invention is-- 1. In a voltaic battery, the combination with the oxid-plate electrode, of a sustaining frame or hanger consisting of vertical rods or bars rigidly and permanently united at their bottom to form a U-shaped frame or hanger, and a hinged clamping-bar or crosspiece mounted on one of said vertical rods or bars and adapted to bear against one of the plane or fiat surfaces of said plate.

2. In a voltaic battery, the combination of a plate of copper oxid molded and solidified, a sustaining frame or hanger composed of two vertical rods, and a connecting-base rigidly aud permanently joined to said rods, a projecting plate or plates extending from the vertical rods to engage one face of said oxid plate, and a clamping-plate pivotally supported on one of said bars and adapted to press against the opposite face of the plate.

3. In a voltaic battery, the combination with the oxid electrode, of a supporting frame or hanger sustained from the cover of the battery,- and a clamping-plate mounted on a pivotal support on said frame and pro vided with a disk or plate adapted to engage ICC the flat or plane surface of the oxid plate, as

and for the purpose'described.

4:. In a voltaic battery, the combination with a negative electrode composed of one or more plates of copper oxid, of a sustainingframe or hanger and a pivotally-supported clamping plate or bar adapted to bear against one face of said oxid plate and permanently secured to one side of the frame or h nger and having a latch connection with the other side of said frame. 7 V

5. In a voltaio battery, the combination with an electrode and a frame or hanger sustained from the battery-cover, of a springlatch secured to said frame and adapted to bear against one face of said electrode and to pressthe same against a sustaining pro:

Signed vat New York, inthe county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day December, A; D. 1902. JAMES WILLIAM GLADSTONE. Witnesses:

J GALLWITZ, E. L. LAWLER. 

